Mail-bag catching and delivering appliance.



W. M. PORTEE. MAIL BAG UATCHING AND DELIVERING APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30,1907.

Patented Sept. 15,1908.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

auuenfoz wi l'n eases THE NoRms PETERS cm. WASHINGTON. n. c.

W; M. PORTBE. MAIL BAG CATGHING AND DELIVERING APPLIANCE.

' APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1907.

898,504, Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

a SHEETS-SHE-ET 2.

v M. PORTEE. MAIL BAG OATGHING AND DELIVERING APPLIANCE;

APPLICATION FILED'SBPT.30,1907;

Patented Spt. 15, 1908 3 SHEEN-SHEET 3.

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WILLIAM M. PORTEE, OF MURPHYSBORO, ILLINOIS.

MAIL-BAG- CATCHING- AND DELIVERING APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

Application filed September 30, 1907. Serial No. 395,232.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. PORTEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Murphysboro, in the county of Jackson, State of llinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchingand Delivering Appliances; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The present invention has reference to mail-bag catching and deliveringmechanism designed for receiving a mail-bag from a moving train and, atthe same time, delivering one thereto, the object of the inventionresiding, generally, in the provision of a simple and exceedinglyeffective mechanism of that nature.

More particularly, however, the invention resides in the construction ofthe mechanism located at the receiving station, or, in other words, themechanism complementary to that located upon the mail-car, suchmechanism consisting, primarily, of a post hinged to a receptacle, andfoldable thereinto when not in use, and a pair of receiving wings and asupporting hook carried by the post, the wings being held normally apartfrom each other by a trigger against which the bag received from thetrain strikes, whereupon the movable wing is drawn towards thestationary wing by means of a coil-spring, thus clamping the bag betweenthe wings and holding it in safety until removed by the postal clerk.

With the above and other ends in view, the invention consists in theparticular construction of parts and in their combination andarrangement, all as hereinafter fully described, specifically claimed,and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like parts aredesignated by corresponding reference numerals in the several views.

Of the said drawings :Figure 1 is a front elevation of the post and itsattachments, the latter being shown in operative position. Fig. 2 is atop plan view showing also a portion of the car and the delivering armcarried thereby. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the receiving wings.Fig. 4 is a fragmental rear elevation of the post and the bag-supportingarm. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the car arm. Fig. 6 is a side elevation,showing the post arm partly folded into its receiving box, the Wings andarm having been removed therefrom, the view being partly in section, toillustrate the hinge connection between the lower end of the post andthe receptacle.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 7 designates the post whichis mounted within a suitable box 8 secured to the platform 9 at thereceiving station, the box being located at the requisite distance fromthe track upon which the car 10 travels. The post is hinged at its lowerend to the bottom of the box so as to permit of its being foldedthereinto when not in use, the hinge connection being indicated by thenumeral 11. The post is further provided with a latch 12 secured to thefront face thereof and adapted for engagement with a keeper 13 securedto the front end of the box, to retain the 0st in its operative orupright position. T e box is closed by a lid 14 hinged thereto, so as toprotect the post and its attachments when in place therein. At its upperend the post is provided with. bag-catching and bagsupporting mechanism16, both of said mechanisms being reversibly engaged therewith so as topermit of their change from one side to the other of the post, accordingas the train approaches from one direction or the other.

The first mentioned or catching mechanism comprises a pair of horizontalwings 17 and 18 connected at their inner ends to a cap 19 provided witha stem 20 adapted to fit in a socket formed in the post and retained inplace by a set screw 21. The connection between the wing 17 and the capis-rigid, while that between the Wing 18 and the cap is in the nature ofa hinge,- so as to permit the latter wing to be moved towards or fromthe former, saidwings being normally forced to wards each other by anexpansible coilspring 22 which embraces a pin 23 secured at one end tothe stationary wing and ex tending through a slot formed in the movableWing, the outer end being headed, as shown. The spring bears at oppositeends against the outer face of the wing 18 and the headed end of the pin23. To hold the movable wing away from the stationary wing, against theaction of said spring, the latter wing carries a horizontal trigger 24pivoted thereto at its inner end and provided with a beveled free endadapted to bear against the movable wing, as shown in Fig. 2, themovable wing being provided with a longitudinal slot 25 located slightlyin the rear of the point at which the trigger contacts with said wingwhen in operative position.

It will be apparent, therefore, from the foregoing, that when the wingsare in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the train is traveling in thedirection indicated by the arrow, the bag held upon the supporting arm26 of the car-carried mechanism will pass between the wings and willstrike, directly against the trigger, the impetus of the blow forcingthe latter rearwardly towards the post until it reaches the slot 25,through which it moves, the spring 22 forcing the slotted wing towardsthe stationary wing and thus clamping the mail-bag in placetherebetween.

The bag-supporting mechanism 16 consists, as shown, in Fig. 4, of avertical metal rod 27 bent laterally intermediate its ends to provide alower section and an upper section, the former having its free endfitting bearing formed in a metal bracket 28 projecting laterally fromthe rear face of the post, said section being thus held away from saidpost. The upper section of the rod 27 is provided with a hollow sleeve29in which the downwardly bent inner end of a horizontal rod 30 fits,the last-mentioned rod being likewise provided with a sleeve 31. Thesleeve 31 is provided with a pair of sockets in which the inner ends ofa horizontal arm 32 and a vertical arm 33 fit, the last-mentioned armhaving a lateral extension 34 disposed directly beneath and parallelwith the arm 32. The arms 32 and 34 extend forwardly towards the trackrails. Owing to the attachment of the wings 17 and 18 to the cap 19, andto the particular mounting of they latter, as above described, thecatching mechanism can be reversed, after the screw 21 has beenloosened, in order to render it capable of cooperatingwith thecar-carried mechanism 26 irrespective of the direction in which the caris traveling, the supporting mechanism being likewise reversible andheld in proper position by any suitable fastening means.

The car-carried mechanism as shown. in Fig. 5 comprises, in part, ahorizontally-disposed bar 35, whose opposite ends fit in bearingssecured exteriorly of the car in opposite sides of the openings or doorsformed therein, and a U-sha ed rod 36, the free end of the inner arm 0the rod being curved laterally inwards and connected to the latter, thusproviding a bag-receiving portion. This rod arm is further provided witha de pending arm 37 whose free end is, in turn,

ent laterally so as to extend directly beneath. and parallel with theouter arm of said rod. The outer armiof the bar and the bent portion ofthe arm 37 thus serveas supports for the mail-bag to be removed by thewings carried by the post, the disposition of said arms with respect tothe wings being such that one passes directly above and the otherdirectly beneath said wings. The bar is provided with a handle 38 bymeans of which it is rotated so as to bring said arms into operativeposition. The catching or bag removing arm carried by the bar has notbeen shown, since it is of the ordinary type and forms no part of thepresent invention. The post 7, which is hinged at its lower end to thebottom of the box 8, is preferably formed in two parts which arehingedtogether at their inner ends so as to be capable of being folded oneupon the other when the post is not in use.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that when theseveral parts, of the different mechanisms have been set in theiroperativev position, as shown on Fig. 2, the.

1. The combination, in a mechanism of the class described, of a post, arotatable cap provided with a finger adapted to fit in a socket formedin the upper end of the post, and a pair of horizontal bar-removingwings secured to the cap and movable therewith so as to extend to oneside or the other of the post, according to the direction of travel ofthe mail car, one of said wings being stationary and, the other wingbeing movable towards and from the stationary wing, to clamp a mail bagtherebetween.

2. The combination, in a mechanism of the class described, of a post, arotatable cap provided, with a finger adapted to fit in a socket formedin the upper end of the post, a pair of horizontal bag-removing wingssecured to the cap and movable therewith so as to extend to one side orthe other of the post, according to the direction of travel of the mailcar, and means adapted for engagement with said finger to retain thewings in fixed position atoneside or the other of the 0st. p 3. Thecombination, in a mechanism of the class described, of a post, arotatable cap provided with a finger adapted to fitoin a socket formedin the upper end of the post, a pair of horizontal bag-receiving wingssecured to the cap and movable therewith so as to extend to one side orthe other of the post according to the direction of travel of themail-car, one of said wings being sta. tionary and the other movable,means for holding the movablewing in contact with the stationary wing,means for holding the movable wing away from the stationary wing againstthe action. of the first-mentioned -wings, and means adapted forengagement with said finger, to retain the wings in fixed position atone side or the other of the post. 4. In a mechanism of the classdescribed, the combination of a post, a pair of horizontal wings carriedthereby, one of said wings being movable towards and from the other, aspring adapted to bear against the movable wing, to force it towards thestationary wing, and a trigger pivoted to one of said wings and adaptedto engage the other wing, to hold said wings out of contact with eachother, and to extend through a slot formed in the last-mentioned Wing,the disengagement of the trigger from said wing being effected by theblow of the bag removed by the wings.

5. The combination, in a mechanism of the-class. described, of a box, apost hinged at its lower end to the box bottom and comprising aplurality of sections foldable one upon another, to permit the post tobe disposed within the box, and bag-sup orting and catching mechanismsremovab y connected with said post.

6. The combination, in a mechanism of the class described, of a box anda cover hinged thereto, a post hinged at its lower end to the bottom ofthe box,said post comprising a plurality of sections foldably connectedtogether, so as to permit the post to be completely disposed within thebox when not in use, cooperating means carried by the bottom section ofthe post and the front wall of the box for retaining the post in uprightposition when not in use, and bag-supporting and catching mechanismremovably connected with the top section of the post.

7. The combination, with a post, of a bagsupporting mechanism comprisinga vertical rod, and means for connecting the same to the post, a sleevesecured to the upper end of said rod, a horizontal rod having its innerend bent so as to fit in said sleeve, a sleeve secured to the outer endof said horizontal rod, and a horizontal and a vertical arm carried bysaid last-mentioned sleeve, the vertical arm being provided with ahorizontal extension disposed directly beneath and parallel with thehorizontal arm.

In testimony whereof, I aflix mysignature,

in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM M. PORTEE. Witnesses:

B. S. SMITH, T. F. PELLETT.

